Sassisk

As folklorist arbeid ik et leevst med autentyke bornen. Dårmed meyn ik bornen, dee direkt upteykend binnen vanuut een originale spreaker. Süks een spreaker kin elkeneyn weasen: dyn eygen ma of muke, dee meneyr van een stråt of wat wyder, dee boor wyd vurd up syn boordery, kinder up et skoulplein – nööm et mor. Van disse lüde krigstu oft to höyren welke vortellingen wårlik rundgån in een meynskop: watvöär spoken der rundspoken, welke gruwels et wåter bevårliken, wel der et ongluklike underwarp van gemeine witsen en moppen is.

Mor so geit et neet altyd. Heyl oft binnen de bornen, dår ik med arbeid, up eyn of andre wyse bearbeided. Een vorsåmler ducht et skyr, syn/höär vorsåmling to literalisearen. Villicht har de boor hum/höär vorteld um en wåtergruwel. Villicht is der neet een sood med: disse boor weyt dat lüde vortellen um disse wåtergruwel, mor sülv glöövt hee der neet hard up, of hev et sülvs mor seen. Bangig dat elkeneyn disse vortelling lankweilig valt, skrivt de vorsåmler et up een andre wyse: disse wåtergruwel hevt eynmål een skyr jung wichtke to pakken kreagen! By geluk war der nen jonkkearl dee stuv höär achternå douk. Med syn buutsmesse gav hee de wåtergruwel wat råke meppen, en reddet so et wichtke. En see leevt noch lank en gluklig.

Now bin ik geyn grout skryver, mor der binnen een bült lüde up disse aerde dee seakers wat skyrs maken kind med süks materiål. Beater sülvs: een heyle bült van dee maerken-vorsåmlings dee wy so skyr vinden, binnen eyglyks produkten van disse art. De maerkens van Hans Christian Andersen binnen meyst döär hum sülv uutducht. Ouk de broders Grimm hebben et materiål, dat see sammeld hebben, anpasd an et 19^e-eywse peblyk uut de aristokratiske kraenken van Düütskland. En dat düt niks. Dit is nåmlik ouk en wyse, dår wy as lüde med volksvortellingen leven. Wy vortellen höär up een nye wyse, en geaven et een nye meyning.

Ditmål geyn deype analyse, mor gaern wil ik ju kennen leren låten med eyn süksen skryver up et sassisk. Fré Schreiber is een Grönnegske skryver, dee al een sood boken publiseard hev. Hee vorsåmled ouk teympkes en verskes van et Grönnegerland um feasten as Sünnemaerten, Sünnerklås, en Påsken. Dit jår, vöär de Dag van de Grönneger Tål, hev hee vyvtig nye Grönneger maerkens produseard. Eyglyks vind ik een heyle bült dårvan wårlik heyl skyr, mor eyn van de ikoniste is disse, um et pankookwichtke. Leas et sülv een mål, en töt ander mål!

Pankoukwichtje

Ien Westeremmen woonde n kunstschilder ien n hail luk rond hoeske. Zo luddek dat e der zulf mor naauw ien kon. Douk doar e op schilderde kon ook nait n rechthouk of n vaaierkaant wezen, kon der nait ien. Doarom haar e ronde schilderdouken en schilderde allinneg mor pankouken. Pankouken ien aal soorten en kleuren. Nait allinneg mit dingen der op zo as n hoamer of n spieker, nee ook koppen van mensen. Zo haar hai ais n hail mooi kopke van n Grunneger wichtje moakt mit vlechten en zummerstippen dij blied lagde. Schilder was wies mit dij schilderij, dij was hom goud belukt, dij kon e wel verkopen veur n haalf miljoun euro.

Ais op n mörn, dou e beneden kwam, keek hai nog ais sekuur noar t schilderij van t pankoukwichtje en dou … Verbeeldde hai t hom of was t echt zo? Zai lagde tegen hom en begunde mit hom te proaten. Dat ging aalgedureg hail daag zo wat deur, mor dou t duuster wer, was t doan en stil ien t schilderij. Dat was biezunder.

Aal doagen haar schilder doar n bult plezaaier aan. t Wer op n duur zo dat t pankoukwichtje smörns tou t schilderij oet kroop en der soavends weer ien veur naacht. Dat bevil schilder goud, mor aiglieks wol hai wel wat meer. Hai wer verkikkerd op heur en wol heur aal dagen en aal nachten wel bie hom hebben, mor dat kon nait.

Dij mirreg zat t pankoukwichtje bie schilder op schoot te laggen en te snoetjeknovveln en zai haren t zo drok dat zai tied vergat. Dou zai weer tou t schilderij ien kroepen wol, was t aal duuster en doarmit te loat. Zai kon der nait meer ien kommen. Dat was ja prachteg, nou was zai aaltied bie heur schilder, dij laiverd. Mor ook weer nait zo hail prachteg. Vanòf dij tied het zai nooit meer lagd!

Fré Schreiber, Pankoukwichtje: 50 Nije Grunneger Sprookjes (2019), p. 3

English

As a folklorist, I like to work with authentic sources. With that I mean sources that are directly recorded from an original narrator. Everybody could be such a narrator: your own mum or grandma, that gentleman a couple of blocks down, that farmer far away on his farm, children in a schoolyard – you name it. These people will tell you which stories really circulate in a community: what kind of ghosts haunt about, which monsters lurk in the watery depths, who is the unfortunate subject of mean jokes.

But this is not always what we actually have. The sources that I utilize are quite often adapted in one way or another. A collector could fancy the idea that it would be fabulous to literalize his/her collection. Perhaps a farmer told them about a water monster. Perhaps it’s a lousy story: this farmer knows some people who talk about a water monster, but he himself doesn’t believe in it, let alone saw it. Afraid that people would be bored out of their minds, the collector writes it down in another fashion: this water monster once grabbed a fair young maiden! Luckily a boy dove straight after them. With a few slashed from his pocket knife he hits the water monster and rescues the girl. And they live happily ever after.

I am not a great writer, but there are a lot of people on this earth who surely can create something marvelous out of this type of clay. Even better: a lot of these fairy tale collections that we adore are actually these kinds of products. The fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen are mostly his own concoctions. The brothers Grimm, too, adapted the material they collected to their 19^th-century German aristocratic public. But it doesn’t matter. This is, of course, also one way in which people deal with folktales. We retell them in a new fashion, giving them new meanings.

This time I won’t bore you with a detailed analysis, but I want to introduce you to such a Saxon author. Fré Schreiber is a writer from the Groningen area who has already published quite a lot. He also collects songs and rhymes from the Groningen area around holidays such as Sint Maarten, Sinterklaas, and Easter. This year, honouring the Dag van de Grönneger Tål, he composed fifty new Groninger fairy tales. I actually love a lot of them, but the next story is one of the most iconic, about a pancake gil. Enjoy, and see you next time!

Pancake Girl

In Westeremden there lived an art painter in a very small, round house. So small that he himself could only barely fit in. The canvas on which he painted also couldn’t be a rectangle or a square: that wouldn’t fit. That is why he had round canvases, on which he only painted pancakes. Pancakes in all kinds and all colours. Not only with objects on them, like a hammer or a nail, no, also faces. One time he painted a very pretty face of a Groninger girl with braids and freckles who smiled happily. Our painter was extremely fond of this painting: it turned out great, and he could sell it for half a million euros!

Once upon a morning, when he came downstairs, he inspected the painting of the pancake girl once more, and then … did he dream it, or was it real? She smiled at him and started talking to him. This continued during the rest of the day, but when it became dark it became quiet in the painting. That was curious.

Every day the painter treasured these moments. Over time the pancake girl would crawl out of the painting in the morning, and only return to it for the night. Our painter enjoyed this, but he still longed for more. He fell in love with her, and wanted her with him all day and all night. But that wasn’t possible.

That afternoon the pancake girl sat on the painter’s lap, laughing and making out, and they were so busy with one another that they forgot to mind the time. As she wanted to crawl back into the painting it was already dark outside, and therefore too late. She could not enter the painting anymore. That was frickin’ awesome! Now she would always be with her painter, that sweetheart! But not that great in the end. From that time onwards she never smiled again.

Fré Schreiber, Pankoukwichtje: 50 Nije Grunneger Sprookjes (2019), p. 3

Spookplåtkepråt

Um et måken van de foto

Spooky Spectral Speculations

About creating the picture

Disse plåt is inspireard döär Et wichtke med de pårel van de nedderlandske skilder Vermeer. Ditmål is myn moudel de dochter van eyn van de witte wyven (leas et vorhål up: Vrouwlüü en höär Richtige Stea). Ik wul et gebruuk van licht nåmaken, lykas nedderlandske measters et ouk deaden in höär skilderyen.

Wy såten an nourdkant van myn köyken med een swarde dook up de koolkaste en et natüürlike licht van de doukige dunkere herfstdag dat et war. Wende, myn moudel, war wårachtig eyn professjonaal moudel! Ik bin unmöynig blyde med et resültåt, en ik glööv dat Wende een sood up et originaal likt, med desülvde kalmte en rüst in höär ansicht.

This picture is inspired by The girl with the pearl earring by the Dutch painter Vermeer. This time my model is the daughter of one of the white women (read the story at: Women and their Right Place). I really wanted to recreate the use of light like the Dutch masters did in their paintings.

So we sat at the north side of my kitchen, with a black cloth on the refrigerator and natural light from the misty dark autumn day it so happened to be. Wende, my model, modeled like a pro! I am very happy with the result and I think Wende looks very much like the original, with the same tranquility and serenity in her face.